There are certain places I visit that I know that I will like right away. There are other places that don’t jive with me almost instantly. Those include Phuket, Istanbul, Mandalay, and Bagan. Curiously, most states or countries that begin with “M” are not my cup of tea. That list includes Michigan, Montana, Mongolia, Maldives, Macau, Malaysia (more KL than KK), Myanmar, and Morocco. It does not include Mexico or Mauritius.
Morocco was another Myanmar. It’s a place high on everyone’s travel list, but I wonder how many people actually have been there. In Myanmar, I encountered many annoying tourists in love Myanmar who thought they were finding Zen by biking to pagodas. They overlook the fact that these palaces were built on the backs of peasants to show off their wealth to their neighbors. In Morocco, I found a bootleg version of the Middle East. The food isn’t as good, the country isn’t as beautiful, and the Arabic is unintelligible! After one night, I was ready to leave.
The reason I decided to stay was 1) I received a suite upgrade at Le Meridien after a night of no A/C and no Wi-Fi, 2) hotels in Madrid, my next destination, are ducking expensive, and 3) TPOL’s amended Travel Philosophy requires that I stick to the plan and see things through to the bitter end.
But mostly I stayed because of the suite and the opportunity to relax after running around Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Italy, and France.
Doesn’t it seem like a better idea to go see another city, say Fes perhaps, rather than deciding you didn’t like Morocco after one night and trying to flee back to Madrid?
Also, the Doubletree Hilton Madrid is 39,000 points for tonight.
The post says “almost”. I obviously stayed.
He? If you dislike discovering something new then maybe stick to re-visit someplace that guaranteed your taste and never try an-adventure?
What are you talking about? Do you see the trips I take? I barely repeat places ever. Perhaps explore the blog a bit more before providing recs that run counter to my travel philosophy.
I’m sorry if I offends you. Only since you wrote”The food isn’t as good, the country isn’t as beautiful, and the Arabic is unintelligible!”, it comes to me how to guarantee satisfaction is not taking risk on new place.
Again, please accept my apology
I’m never offended! I just respond strongly to generalizations. The fun of travel is being shocked one way or another. Like all trips, I will post a breakdown of everything I did, good and bad.
Come on TPOL, you’re so uncultured! Always Complaining! You think you can get to know a country after only one night! You’re against everything that humanity stands for! Why did I waste my time reading your post and writing this comment! I don’t know, I just can’t help myself because ranting makes me feel better about myself! \s
Sorry, couldn’t help myself 🙂 Look forward to hearing about the rest. Its nice to know that not everybody tries to paint a perfect picture of a place just to justify the fact that they just wasted time/money/points going somewhere.
Lol. Nicely said.
Urggg you stayed at a Le Meridien in Marrakesh….well I guess your job is to review airlines and chain hotels instead of the destinations. One of the things (very few) that I liked about Morocco is staying in Riads; their local house/mansion converted to “boutique” hotels. Their Moroccan decors, furniture, and mosaic tiles were astonishing beautiful! Pictures of the riad here: https://missvacation.wordpress.com/2017/07/23/into-africa-marrakesh-morocco/ The only reason I went to Marrakesh was it was the gateway to Sahara Desert which became one of my once in a life-time experiences. Afterwards, we went to Fes (my least favorite city) and that was because it was the stop to the storybook looking Chefchaouen!
I am looking forward to hear where did you actually visited in Morocco besides the one night at the Le Meridien in Marrakesh 😉
Bro bro, you should’ve stayed until Sept so you could catch Hawtin, Plex, Moodymann, and KiNK!
Hahaha!!
too busy at the Baker’s Dozen at MSG!!